A Typography Project Inspired by Hebrew Alphabet – Aleph
This little book strives to highlight the growth of Hebrew first alphabet, an overview of observing how language influenced by others and the interests it triggered, a journey inspired by the silent letter – Aleph, a tribute to the rich history of Hebrew language.
Hebrew Language
Hebrew is the name given to one of the world’s oldest languages. However, today’s Hebrew speakers are not fully conscious with the origin of their language. Due to different periods and rich layers involved along the revolution of Hebrew words, it is unlikely to recognize whether they are new or old based on the outward appearance of characters. The only way to find out is to be exposed through study of books which written at different periods in order to discover when a certain word began its career.
The Father of Alphabet
The first alphabet of Hebrew is Aleph (pronounced as “ah-lef”), it is also known as the “father” of Aleph-Bet. Aleph is a silent letter because it has no sound of its own, but usually accompanied with a vowel to form a pronunciation. Aleph is known as a guttural letter since it used to be pronounced in the back of the throat, just like the beginning sound of “uh-huh”. Hence, instead of drawing a picture of l-i-o-n, the writing system is developed further by practicing ability to spell l-i-o-n. So is the Hebrew, the symbolic characters are to be arranged in order to form words and meanings.
In the Beginning
Hebrew is indeed a very exciting language as it has unique characters that beautifully shaped in certain symbols, where each stroke represents a value. But where does Hebrew come from? We often take for granted when we are having conversation through speech and conveying message by writing a sentence or typing a paragraph on screen; we naturally assumed that we shared a mutual language with the listener and readers without questioning the origin of this system. In fact, the alphabets as we all know it seems to trace its origin back to the period and location of the Hebrew exodus from Egypt.
Two Hands and a Nail
In Modern Hebrew, the letter of Aleph is classified into three forms, which includes the book print (Serif & Sans Serif), manual print (block) and cursive. It is also said the letter Aleph is created with two hands and a nails, showing the strong sacrifice of Jesus Christ. Meanwhile, the word “Aluph” which derived from the very name of this letter means “Master” or “Lord” in Hebrew.
The First Letter Ever Created
In a story, it is told that all letters come before the Lord and started giving various reasons of why they should be the first letter, all candidates except for the letter Aleph. The Lord felt very curious hence asking why is not Aleph participated. Yet, Aleph remained silent because he has nothing to say. However, the Lord were intrigued and honored Aleph’s humility by declaring him to be the first of all letters as well as the first word of the Ten Commandments, which are a set of biblical principles that play significant roles in Judaism and Christianity.
Recreate and Crossover
In this stage, the experiment is to recreating a glyph inspired by the letter Aleph whilst incorporated with features of Hoefler Text in turn to explore further about the character and texture of the Hebrew letter as well as to challenge the opportunities and possibilities of contemporary typeface.
A Modern Classic
One of the most mesmerizing qualities about the letterforms of Hoefler Text is the curved and smooth serif, which captivates the sense of serenity while accompanied by a graceful contrast with the firm strokes and thickness that stimulates the impression of viewers with its remarkably balanced harmony and stability. Hence, the main objective is to generate a complementary between a traditional Hebrew alphabet and modern Hoefler Text.
Hebrew, similarly to other language, thus grew layers which corresponded to particular period of the language and we can find the traces in our spoken and written language today. Although letters are introduced for the purpose of communication, yet the creation of certain language does not indicate the freedom that anyone could use it due to significant reasons and differences, but every creation of characters reveals a revolution of language in which explained the growth of history and intellectual learning of humankind.
"If letters are created for the sake of expression, what is the right to learn a certain language? Although I am neither a Christian nor a Jewish, yet this exploration of Hebrew characters made me more interested in history and the process of learning the past reminds me of how I fell in love typography in the first place because it brings people together."
